Current:Home > FinanceKanye West Sued for Sexual Harassment By Ex-Assistant Lauren Pisciotta -SummitInvest
Kanye West Sued for Sexual Harassment By Ex-Assistant Lauren Pisciotta
View
Date:2025-04-14 20:10:35
Kanye West is facing legal action from his former assistant.
Lauren Pisciotta is suing West for a number of complaints, including wrongful termination, sexual harassment—quid pro quo and hostile environment—unlawful retaliation, unpaid wages and gender discrimination, as seen in documents obtained by E! News.
Pisciotta worked for West for about a year and a half after she was hired by the "Runaway" rapper in July 2021. At the time, she was making around $1 million per year through social media and an OnlyFans account—of which she alleges in her suit that West approved. However a year later, she claims West asked that Pisciotta become "God like" and delete her OnlyFans account. According to the suit, West promised to pay Pisciotta $1 million in compensation for the loss of the account, but that he allegedly never paid.
Additionally, Pisciotta claims in her suit that West sent her a multitude of inappropriate and graphically sexual messages and videos throughout her employment, examples of which included in the documents describe his sexual fantasies, sexual encounters with an unnamed model and other messages which "suggested or insinuated that Plaintiff [Pisciotta] wanted to have sex with Defendant [West] and actually had sexual intercourse with Defendant, when in fact she did not want to and never indeed did do."
Pisciotta also claims West called her regularly "under the guise of discussing work related topics" but that he would "masturbate during the phone conversation and would often ask Plaintiff if she could hear or guess what he was doing."
Additionally, Piscotta alleges that in mid-September 2022, she was offered a promotion to a Chief of Staff role that came with an accompanying raise which brought her annual salary from $1 million to $4 million.
Yet while Pisciotta says she accepted the role and began performing its duties accordingly, she claims "despite expressing their great satisfaction with Plaintiff's job performance, defendants continued to fail to pay Plaintiff as they had previously promised." The suit also says Pisciotta "advanced many costs necessary for the performance of her services" including "cell phone charges, meals and purchases."
Then, in October 2022, Pisciotta claimed her employment was terminated, at which time she was offered a severance of $3 million, which she accepted but says she was never paid.
The documents say, "As a result of defendants' discriminatory, retaliatory and unlawful actions against her, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer damages, in the form of lost wages and other employment benefits, and severe emotional and physical distress, the exact amount of which will be proven at trial."
E! News has reached out to West's rep, as well as Pisciotta's legal team, for comment but has not heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (37845)
Related
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Kidnapped American nurse fell in love with the people of Haiti after 2010 quake
- What are the odds of winning Mega Millions? You have a better chance of dying in shark attack
- Sweden wins Group G at Women’s World Cup to advance to showdown with the United States
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Grand Canyon bus rollover kills 1, leaves more than 50 injured
- Too Hot to Handle’s Georgia Hassarati Calls Out Ex-Boyfriend Harry Jowsey for Cheating Allegations
- Watch the 5 best goals of World Cup group play. Does Lindsey Horan's header top the list?
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Fatal stabbing of dancer at Brooklyn gas station being investigated as possible hate crime, police say
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Buccaneers' first-round pick Calijah Kancey injures calf, could miss four weeks, per report
- Louisiana education officials note post-pandemic improvement in LEAP test scores
- Quran burned at 3rd small Sweden protest after warning that desecrating Islam's holy book brings terror risk
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- You Only Have 48 Hours to Shop These Ulta Deals: Olaplex, It Cosmetics, MAC, St. Tropez, and More
- Trucking works to expand diversity, partly due to a nationwide shortage of drivers
- Amateur baseball mascot charged with joining Capitol riot in red face paint and Trump hat
Recommendation
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Pac-12 schools have to be nervous about future: There was never a great media deal coming
Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 finals jersey expected to draw more than $4 million at Sotheby’s auction
Houston Astros' Framber Valdez throws season's third no-hitter
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Pope Francis can expect to find heat and hope in Portugal, along with fallout from sex abuse scandal
Northwestern hires former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate athletic department
Man whose body was found in a barrel in Malibu is identified by authorities